What was the occasion?

Penny Thomas: Each half-term, I run a cookery club at my school in Wilmslow, Cheshire. I aim to teach about eight children a handful of recipes they can do at home. We make "proper food" as I want the children to realise that they can make delicious meals from scratch in an hour. Quite a number of them now cook at home.

Periodically, the older children invite their parents and governors to the school for a three-course meal. We charge £10 per head, or £15 for two people. Any money left over is donated to the Wilmslow-based charity, Food Friend. Last term we donated £60.

This was our third cookery club. There were eight cooks from years 4 and 5: Tom, Ben, Matis, Aidan, Joseph, Nick, Brandon and Luke.

Aidan: We worked in pairs or groups of three on different dishes. I made the minestrone soup with Ben and Matis. We all made the bread rolls. There were about 40 rolls.

Matis: About 25 people came. We served them, and they all left at about 7pm.

What did you have to eat?

Nick: We made minestrone soup with homemade bread, mini toad-in-the-hole with onion gravy, chicken escalopes with green pasta salad and salmon parcels with noodles. For dessert we made lemon cheesecake and a fruit salad.

Did it take you a long time to prepare?

Matis: We all went shopping together at 9.30am and finished preparing the food by about 4pm. There was lots of washing up during the day. We had some playtime, then we put the toad in the oven at about 5pm. Everything was ready by 5.30pm when people started arriving.

Did anything go wrong?

Tom: No nothing went wrong – we were brilliant! We didn't cut our fingers. It was a lot of fun – lots of work, but we just enjoyed being together.

Aidan: I hope we get to do another one. But Mrs Thomas is still recovering from this one so maybe not for a while ...

Minestrone soup

Minestrone soup. Photograph: Rebecca Lupton for the Guardian

Ben: Everyone really liked the food. Their favourite dish was the minestrone soup – well, that's what my mum said. I hope we can do it again.

1 Put a piece of salmon on a square of greaseproof paper or foil, then put some of each of the veggies on top. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, then add a squirt of orange juice and a splash or two of soy sauce.

2 Seal the parcel and cook in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes, until the fish is opaque.

3 Meanwhile, boil the noodles as per the instructions on the packet.

4 Once cooked, serve the salmon on a bed of noodles.

Mini toad-in-the-hole

Nicholas: It was great fun snipping up the long strips of chipolatas and then pouring the batter over them.

Joseph: I love sausages and yorkies and this is like a little meal in your hand.

1 Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Place the flour in a large bowl, then add the eggs and milk/water. Beat well until thoroughly mixed. Leave to stand for about 30 minutes.

2 Put 3 x 4-cup muffin trays in the oven to heat up with a small amount of oil at the bottom of each cup. Once heated, put two chipolatas in each cup and return to the oven for about 5 minutes until really hot.

3 Give the batter a good beating and pour into each cup so the sausages are just covered. Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown and risen.

4 To make the gravy, sweat the onions in a pan with the oil, until soft and caramelised. Stir in the flour, then add spoonfuls of the beef stock until you have your preferred thickness of gravy.

Lemon cheesecake

Lemon cheesecake. Photograph: Rebecca Lupton for the Guardian

Aidan: Making the base of the cheesecake was difficult: we made it with digestive biscuits and butter, but we had to make it for 18 people, so we weren't really sure how much to make. In the end we made three cakes and they were all perfect. My favourite part of the day was licking the cheesecake bowls.

1 Crush the biscuits by bashing them with a rolling pin in a large bowl.

2 Stir in the melted butter.

3 Press the crushed and buttered biscuits into the base of a greased 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and chill.

4 Meanwhile, mix the cream, yoghurt, cream cheese and sugar in a bowl.

5 Add the lemon juice to the gelatine and warm over a pan of hot water. When this mixture is clear, mix quickly into the dairy mix.

6 Pour the mixture on to the biscuit base and leave to set in the fridge for at least an hour.

7 Once set, sprinkle lemon zest over the top of the cheesecake and serve.

Win a cookbook and ingredient set

For each get-together we feature, the host will receive a choice of cookbook sets from SousChef.co.uk – the online destination for adventurous cooks. Each set includes an inspiring cookbook and selection of world ingredients to start cooking straight away.